International Research Conference: World Class Universities

The conference focuses on the alleged characteristics and policy expressions of the discourse of the “World Class University” (WCU).

The conference focuses on the alleged characteristics and policy expressions of the discourse of the World Class University (WCU). The purpose is to provide a venue for the diffusion of research on WCUs and global rankings of higher education produced at the interface of a variety of approaches from several disciplines. The conference will provide not only a broad overview of the historical background and recent developments of the discourse of WCU; it also aims to broaden and deepen the theoretical discussion, and ultimately to point a way forward out of present impasses resulting from the pervasive use and abuse of both the notion of “world-class” and related terms in the discourse of quality assessment (rankings, league tables, excellence initiatives, etc.). The goal is to stimulate, integrate and consolidate HE-research at the highest level and contribute to theoretical, methodological development while also providing important empirical data that can be useful for educational policy and practice broadly.

The conference is financed by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and the Department of Education. It will be hosted by Higher Education as Research Object (HERO), a multidisciplinary research network at Uppsala University.